Handle operated brushes, brooms, and like articles



J. E. HORN 2,432,098 v HANDLE OPERATED BRUSHES, BROOMS, AND LIKEARTICLESH l Dec. 9, 1947.`

Filed OCT.. 5, 1944 Fig.

Dec. 9, 1947. J. E. HORN 2,432,098

HANDLE OPERATED BRUSHES, BROOMS, AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed Oct. 5, 1944 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENToR.

Patentecl Dec. 9, 1947 HANDLE OPERTED BRUSHES,BRQOMS,. AN D`LIKEARTICLES This inventioni relates to improvementsin'handie-operatedbrushes, broomsand like articles." It hasheretofore beenl the practiceto provide on brushes, such as dust brushes or bristle brooms and'scrubbing brushes, bearing brackets 'or lugs in" which handles aremounted. Such handles were usually pivotally movable in a vertical planeinthebearing bracket about a horizontal pivot or pivots from'a positionat right angles to'the head at onen side thereof to and throughintermediate positions to a position at right angles to the head on theopposite side thereof. This enabled the angularity of the handle to thebrush head and its bristles to be changed'and reversed so as to enableequalization of Wear of such bristles during use at two edges ofthebristles, it being understood that constant contact of one edge of thebristles with the surface.

to be cleaned, while the handle is in one position, will cause unevenwear andan inclination of the bristles in relation to the head, and thata move-V ment of the handle will assist in avoiding such uneven wear attwo of the longitudinal edges of the bristles.

One of the objects of my invention is vto provide means whereby the wearof the bristles will be equalized at all four of the edges of the brush.

Another object of my invention is to facilitate the movement of thehandle to varying positions about the head of' the brush.

Still another object of my invention is to enable the projection of thebrush into longl narrow spaces, within which only the narrow edge of thebrush will nt and which could not otherwise be entered to the sameextent with a handle-operated brush.

Another object of my invention is to provide a bearing bracket for thehandle of the brush that may be turned axially about a vertical pivot onthe head thereof, so that the narrow portion of the brush may bearranged parallel to the handle to enable insertion of the brushlengthwiseiinto corners and narrow spaces.

Another object of my invention is to provide an easy and quick method ofreversing the position o-f the handle to oppositecsides of the brush infour handle positions, two at opposite sides of the head and two at theopposite ends thereof,

2] thus 'enabling veii'cient brushing' of'all surfaces.

With'these' and 'otherobjects in view, they in.-

venti'on comprises the' combination of members andarrangement 'ofpartsso combined as to coact, vand'cooperate witheacnother in they per'-fo'rmance offth'e'functions and the accomplish;

ment'of vthe results .herein contemplated, and' comprises in'one 'of itsadaptations the species or preferred form illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan View of a 'fragmentaryp'ortionof'a brushheadlsh'owing one form of my' handle-mounting bracket, with.automaticallyvv engageabl'e and releasabley locking, members,r on: thebracket, thehandle being omitted;

Fig. 2 'is .a section substantially on the line 2'-2'of Fig. l'butshowing .the handle mounted.V in the bracket;

Fig. 3,' is a sectionV substantially'on theline,

Fig. 4 is a top plan view similar to Fig. 1 of my handle-V mountingbracket, with similar lockingV members vmounted'in tlieplate beneaththe. brack-l et;

Fig; '5"is`` a section substantially on the line.,

Fig. 6" is a section substantially on'the' line SLS' of Fig. 5;'

Fig?? is'a topi plan View similar to Figs'. 1 and 4"of'rnyhandle-mounting bracket showing a foot# operable form' of lockinglmember mounted on the..

bracket;

Fig. 8"is"a section substantially on the' line SLB of Fig; 7';

Fig. 9 is'an-endelevationnf my brush-'head and' handlee'mounting bracket'showing the form.

of lockingfdevi'ce" illustrated in Figs. '7 and 8.

Referringn'owto these drawings, and particf.

ujlarly to rFigs.` lftojS thereof, Bindicates .a brushv having bristlesl'mountedin' the head 2 and operable byaconventional lon'g handle' lI'which". asLshown', isY provided 'at its bottom end with a knuckl'ecrspool 8 mounted pivot-,ally in a U,v shapedA 'bearing bracket 5 on ahorizontal pivot pin 9"'and being movable to swing about said pinin a.vertical arcuate path from one side off.

said head to the otherand to project at .right anglesfrom either side ofthe head.. The handle is preferablyV lockable in'any suitable positionfor operation'fjor use at'either side of the head2 by. a thumb screw l5'," and'this j mounting `thus ,pro-.v videsfor'the swinging 'andlocking of the operat-f inghandle in suchreversed positions so astolenable equalization ofthe wear of thebristles`vv 3 tion of a screw 6 andpreferably is mounted above a socketed base-plate I secured to the brushhead 2 by screws 3. rJ.he bracket 5 is lockable to said base plate infour radial positions with reference to the brush head and the handlemay thus be caused to project from the ends of the brush head as well asfrom the sides.

In all the embodiments of my invention shown, the bracket 5 comprises aU-snaped oblong member composed of a flat bottom plate I2 and twoside-plates i3 and I4 extendmg vertically therefrom to form bearings forthe knuckle or spool 3 to which the handle II is connected and, inaccordance with my invention, the screw-pivot v6 passes verticallythrough the bottom plate at its central portion radially beneath theknuckle 8 and in vertical alignment with the horizontal pivot 9 and theends of said oblong U-shaped member 5 move in a circular path about saidpivot 6 and I provide in the base-plate I a series of four. depressionsor notches II disposed in a circular path and adapted, during axialturning movement of the bracket, to be reached by an engaging member ormembers 1 carried by the Said bottom plate I2.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the depressions or notchesare positioned at quadrant positions of the circular path, thusproviding four positions in which the bearing bracket may be locked andthese positions confront the two sides and the two ends of the bracket,and the pair of engaging members comprise conventional latch elementscomposed of a casing I6 and a springpressed plunger member I1, theconstruction of which is more particularly illustrated in Figs. 4 to 6.

In Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive, I have shown a modified formvof my inventionin which, instead cf tne engaging members or latch members being carriedby the bracket member, a series cf four latching elements, each composedof a casing land'a Spring-pressed plunger I9, are mounted in holes orsockets 20 partially formed in the base plate and partially in the head2. The plungers extend upwardly to enter into sockets 26 formed in thebottom plate I2 of the bracket 5. As shown, eacn latching elementcomprises a plunger I8 mounted to slide in a casing I9 and provided atits lower end with a guide-pin 24 fixed or connected to the plunger andhaving a`.slidable connection with the end of the casing.- Thepin 24 hasmounted thereon a spiral spring 25 arranged between the contractedbottom portion of the casing and the lower end of the plunger I8. Asabove indicated,

four of these spring-pressed latch-elements are arranged in the arc of acircle to confront the sides and ends of the bracket member, and saidbracket is provided with sockets or depressions 25 at opposite ends ofthe axial swivel or pivot pin 21. In other respects the constructionshown in Figs. 4 to 6 is similar to that described and illustrated inregard to Figs. 1 to 3.

In Figs. 7 to 9 I have illustrated a modified and preferred constructionof my invention, in which a latching element or pawl 30 is pivotallymounted on a horizontal pivot 3| extending between the sides I3 and I4of the bracket member 5, which is substantially similar in all respectsto the brackets hereinabove described in relation to Figs. 1 to 6. Thislatching element has an inwardly-extending arm 32 extending across theaxial pivot 4 6 and provided at its end with a toe portion 33 adapted topass through an aperture 34 in the bottom plate l2 of the bracket 5 andto enter one of a series of four sockets or apertures composed ofregistering portions 35 and 36 in the base plate I and head 2. At theopposite side of the pivot 3 I,

' the latching member is provided with an operating arm 31 extendingoutside the bracket 5 so as to permit foot-operation or a stepping uponthe same by means of the shoe S of the operator. The latching member orpawl 3B is provided with a spring 38 which is preferably suitablyfastened to the arm 31 and bears against the upper surface of the bottomplate I2 of the bracket. This construction is otherwise similar to thatshown in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive and, because of the embodiment thereinof a foot-actuated latching element, provides a very handy method ofchanging the position of the bracket in relation to the head.

The operation of the device will be substantially obvious from theforegoing description and it will only be necessary to say that in Figs.1 to 6 the latching elements are automatically engageable and releasableby the mere turning of the handle bracket, while in Figs. 7 to 9 theengagement is positive and is releasable by the pressure of the toe ofthe user on the extension portion 31 and the simultaneously turning ofthe handle-bracket by the use of the handle.

Having described my invention, I claim:

A handle-operated brush embodying, in combination, a brush-head memberhaving bristles 'projecting from its lower surface and provided on itsupper surface with a at faced base plate, a pivot member mountedcentrally of said base plate, a handle-bracket member of U-shaped comformation mounted to swivel on said pivot member in a completelycircular path relative to said base plate and having a flat bottom platemovable, during said swiveling of said bracket member, in parallelismwith and closely adjacent to said flat base plate, a handle mounted inthe side walls of said U-shaped bracket, a manually releasable latchingelement mounted on one .of said adjacent plates and latch sockets in theother plate said latching element in latched position directly engagingsaid bottom plate said socket being arranged n quadrant positions in anarc of a circle surrounding said pivot member, and independent springmeans for moving said latching element into latching position whereby areadily releasable and rugged latching construction capable ofroughusage is provided.

JACQUE E. HORN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ile ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,800,349 Hurason Apr. 14, 19311,958,602 Allen et al May 15, 1934 1,994,677 Wildaber Mar. 19, 1935'727,035 Van Loan May 5, 1903 1,422,880 Michaelsen July 18, 1922 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 142,403 Switzerland Nov. 17, 1930 35,980Germany June 2, 1886

